Juha Sjoeblom Profile

I have been interested in world heritage from year 2008 and I have visited sites since then whenever possible. I usually travel 3-5 times a year. My main areas of interest are Northern Africa, Middle East, Balkans, Caucasus and Central Asia.
I'm an independent traveller and when travelling, I want to use public transport as much as possible. Since the sites are not always easy to reach, I’m curious how other travellers have got to them.
I’ll write reviews when I supposedly have some fresh point of view or when the site has only very few reviews. I also tell my overall feelings about the site and how I have travelled to it.
Recent Reviews Juha Sjoeblom
Stari Ras and Sopocani
Juha Sjoeblom Finland - 27-May-20

Site visited July 2016. Stari Ras and Sopoćani is generally least known and visited among the six Yugoslavian sites which were inscribed in 1979. Although the name makes you think that there are two sites the inscription consists of four separate sites around the town of Novi Pazar. This group of medieval monuments of the first capital of Serbia gives you an interesting insight to the history of the country.
I travelled to Novi Pazar by bus from Belgrad and visited the Studenica Monastery during the trip
Read OnDjémila
Juha Sjoeblom Finland - 01-May-20

Site visited December 2013. The Arabic name of the ancient Roman city of Cuicul is Djémila which means ”beautiful”. The site really matches its newer name because it is probably the most beautiful and scenic of all the Roman sites in Algeria. I think it is also one of the top three Roman sites of Africa.
Cuicul was an ancient Roman colony and a military garrison founded in the 1st century. It is built on an altitude of 900 metres on a narrow triangular plateau
Read OnThe historical surroundings of Crimean Khans' capital in Bakhchysarai (T)
Juha Sjoeblom Finland - 24-Apr-20

I visited this site during my tour of Ukraine on July 2013. The former capital of Crimean Khanate with its diverse cultural sites and great sceneries made a good impression on me, and it is also a very nice place to visit. Bakhchysarai is one of those sites which deserve to be included to the World Heritage List, but the current situation is very difficult for it.
At the moment there are two sites of Bakhchysarai on the Ukrainian tentative list: the other one is just for the Khan’s Palace, and the other one is the historic monuments of Bakhchysarai Valley from the Khan’s Palace to the Chufut-Kale. I would support the latter because there are a rich array of cultural sights in and around the city of Bakhchysarai.
Read OnTimgad
Juha Sjoeblom Finland - 10-Apr-20

Site visited December 2013. Timgad is the largest and arguably the best of the Roman archaeological sites of Algeria. I think it is also one of top three Roman sites of Africa and, I dare to say, probably among the best outside of Italy. Timgad is not known for its imposing buildings but for town planning and well preserved grid plan. In this review I focus mainly on the practical issues of visiting Timgad.
Algeria, especially the eastern part of the country, is one of the hotspots of Roman archaeological sites. Apart from the inscribed ones there are several sites worth mentioning: Tiddis, Madauros (Madaure), Hippo Regius (Hippone), Theveste, Thubursicum and Lambaesis. Many of these have been collected to a TWHS Sites, lieux et itineraires augustiniens du Maghreb central.
Read OnPasargadae
Juha Sjoeblom Finland - 31-Mar-20

Site visited December 2015. Although this first capital of Achaemenid Empire may feel dull and empty compared to Persepolis, it is still an interesting place to visit.
Getting to Pasargadae by public transport may be tricky. I guess the only way is to take a bus (probably with a bus change in Marvdasht) from Shiraz to Saadat Shahr and try to get a taxi from there. The easiest way is to hire a taxi all the way from Shiraz. It should also be reasonably priced. Fortunately I had arranged a relative of my colleague to be my chauffeur on my day trip to Persepolis and Pasargadae from Shiraz. After visiting Persepolis we stopped by Naqsh-e Rostam and Naqsh-e Rajab TWHS. By the way, I found this site quite impressive and maybe worth of inscription. After that we headed towards Pasargadae which is an hour’s drive from Persepolis
Read OnProfile Data
- Name
- Juha Sjoeblom
- Country
- Finland
- Most Impressive
- Medina of Fez, Lalibela
Recently Visited WHS
- Update 18.12.20
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Visited WHS
Rating StatsBukhara 5Istanbul 5Lalibela 5Petra 5Acropolis 4.5Baalbek 4.5Grand Canal 4.5Itchan Kala 4.5Medina of Fez 4.5Persepolis 4.5St. Petersburg 4.5Aksum 4Byblos 4Chavin 4Cracow 4Djémila 4Ephesus 4Kotor 4Pergamon 4Ping Yao 4Split 4Timgad 4Trier 4Tyre 4Agrigento 3.5Cuzco 3.5Dengfeng 3.5Island of Patmos 3.5Kairouan 3.5Kyiv 3.5L'viv 3.5Lima 3.5Persian Garden 3.5Qadisha Valley 3.5Qhapaq Ñan 3.5Rabat 3.5Sintra 3.5Vilnius 3.5Visby 3.5Volubilis 3.5Anjar 3Arles 3Avignon 3Belem 3Bryggen 3Butrint 3Corfu 3Delos 3Meknes 3Mostar 3Mtskheta 3Stećci 3Syracuse 3Tallinn 3Trogir 3Vienna 3Atapuerca 2.5Curonian Spit 2.5Gammelstad 2.5Jelling 2.5Luther Memorials 2.5Medina of Sousse 2.5Riga 2.5Shakhrisyabz 2.5Sheki 2.5Sulaiman-Too 2.5Tipasa 2.5Tower of London 2.5Yin Xu 2.5Kernavë 2Mir Castle 1.5Tiya 1.5Nesvizh 1Reviewed WHS
- Stari Ras and Sopocani
- Djémila
- Timgad
- Pasargadae
- Pergamon
- Qadisha Valley
- Qhapaq Ñan
- Caral-Supe
- Chavin
- Rjukan / Notodden
- Grand Canal
- Wudang Mountains
- Dengfeng
- Sheki
- Masjed-e Jâme'
- Simien National Park
- Tiya
- Residence of Bukovinian & Dalmatian Metropolitans
- Tauric Chersonese
- Kasbah of Algiers
- M'Zab Valley
- Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
- Sulaiman-Too
- Stećci
Visited TWHS
- Amalienborg and its district (T)
- Ancient Greek Theatres (T)
- Archaeological site of Laodikeia (T)
- Bagçesaray Palace of the Crimean Khans (T)
- Brooklyn Bridge (T)
- Casablanca, Ville du XXème siécle, carrefour d'influences (T)
- Central Park (T)
- City Walls of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (T)
- Cultural Landscape of Canyon in Kamenets-Podilsk (T)
- Diocletian's Palace and the Historical Nucleus of Split (extension) (T)
- Historical Lisbon, Global City (T)
- Jame' (Congregational) Mosque of Esfahan (T)
- Jerash Archaeological City (Ancient Meeting Place of East and West) (T)
- Kyiv: St. Cyril's and St. Andrew's Churches (T)
- Levadas of Madeira Island (T)
- Monastery of St. Amenaprkich (New Julfa Vank) (T)
- Moulay Idriss Zerhoun (T)
- Nasqsh-e Rostam and Naqsh-e Rajab (T)
- Paimio Hospital (formerly Paimio Sanatorium) (T)
- Persepolis and other relevant buildings (T)
- Pombaline Lisbon (T)
- Rade de Marseille (T)
- Salt Mines of Maras (T)
- Sarajevo - unique symbol of universal multiculture - continual open city (T)
- Seljuk Caravanserais on the route from Denizli to Dogubeyazit (T)
- Site of the Retiro and the Prado in Madrid (T)
- Sites of Globalization (T)
- Surakhany, Atashgyakh (Fire - worshippers, temple - museum at Surakhany) (T)
- Tape Sialk (T)
- Tbilisi Historic District (T)
- The Carvings from historic time at the island of Gaddtarmen (Hauensuoli) (T)
- The Caspian Shore Defensive Constructions (T)
- The historical surroundings of Crimean Khans' capital in Bakhchysarai (T)
- The Historical Village of Abyaneh (T)
- The Historical-Cultural Axis of Fin, Sialk, Kashan (T)
- The monastery of Noravank and the upper Amaghou Valley (T)
- The Persian House in Central plateau of Iran (T)
- The Tara National Park with the Drina River Canyon (T)
- The Zandiyeh Ensemble of Fars Province (T)
- Trakai Historical National Park (T)
- Zadar - Episcopal complex (T)
Reviewed TWHS
Top 50 Missing Sites
- Baikonur Cosmodrome / Cape Canaveral
- City of Herat
- Ensemble du site naturel de la région du Chouf avec les monuments et les sites
- Ephesus
- Fortified City of Famagusta
- Golden Gate Bridge
- Historic University Towns of Oxford and Cambridge
- Jebel Shams, Wadi Nakhur, and Wadi Ghul
- Major Buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright
- Minoan palaces of Crete
- Panama Canal
- Pharaonic Temples of Kom Ombo and Edfu
- Railways of the Andes
- Silk Roads
- Svalbard
- Tempelhof Airport, Berlin
- Tobolsk
- Transiberian Railway
- Vatnajökull National Park
- Vers une architecture: Major Buildings of Le Corbusier
Top 200 WHS
- Isole Eolie
- Birka and Hovgarden
- L'Anse aux Meadows
- Brasilia
- Shibam
- Sana'a
- Old City of Jerusalem
- Rome
- Istanbul
- Venice and its Lagoon
- Camino Real
- Island of Gorée
- Grand Canal
- Qhapaq Ñan
- Silk Roads
- Moenjodaro
- Sukhothai
- Angkor
- Rock Art of Alta
- Altamira Cave
- Iguazu National Park
- Lake Baikal
- Victoria Falls
- Kenya Lake System
- Central Amazon Conservation Complex
- Works of Antoni Gaudí
- Nasca Lines
- Stonehenge
- Chichen-Itza
- Tikal National Park
- St. Petersburg
- Florence
- Tyre
- Site of Carthage
- Classical Gardens of Suzhou
- Wadi Al-Hitan
- Fasil Ghebbi
- Versailles
- Imperial Palace
- Ancient Merv
- Palmyra
- Petra
- Persepolis
- Rwenzori Mountains
- Tajik National Park
- Simien National Park
- Great Himalayan National Park
- Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch
- Machu Picchu
- Kilimanjaro National Park
- Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines
- Fortified City of Carcassonne
- Great Wall
- Agra Fort
- Robben Island
- Statue of Liberty
- Auschwitz Birkenau
- Vilnius
- Old City of Berne
- Cesky Krumlov
- Brugge
- Cracow
- Dubrovnik
- Liverpool
- Bryggen
- Maritime Greenwich
- Great Barrier Reef
- Cuzco
- Ha Long Bay
- Soltaniyeh
- Selimiye Mosque
- Meidan Emam, Esfahan
- Ilulissat Icefjord
- Virgin Komi Forests
- Tropical Rainforest Sumatra
- Serengeti
- Ngorongoro
- Yellowstone
- Galapagos Islands
- Ancient Kyoto
- Völklingen Ironworks
- Falun Great Copper Mountain
- Ironbridge Gorge
- Grand Canyon
- Ancient Thebes
- Salamanca
- Dengfeng
- Jantar Mantar
- Virunga National Park
- Tassili n'Ajjer
- Namib Sand Sea
- Costiera Amalfitana
- Orkhon Valley
- Kew Gardens
- Persian Garden
- Wadi Rum
- Quito
- Meroe
- Great Zimbabwe Ruins
- Kremlin and Red Square
- Sydney Opera House
- Mount Athos
- Westminster
- Saint Catherine Area
- Piazza del Duomo (Pisa)
- Vatican City
- Ravenna
- Lalibela
- Aachen Cathedral
- Göreme NP
- Imperial Tombs
- Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
- Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
- Taj Mahal
- Pyramids (Memphis)
- Mount Emei, including Leshan Giant Buddha
- Mogao Caves
- Potala Palace
- Kathmandu Valley
- Bukhara
- Ping Yao
- Samarkand
- Medina of Fez
- Kairouan
- Medina of Marrakesh
- Damascus
- Historic Cairo
- Timgad
- Dougga/Thugga
- Frontiers of the Roman Empire
- Pont du Gard
- Leptis Magna
- Pompei
- Villa Romana del Casale
- Cyrene
- Agrigento
- Acropolis
- Olympia
- Timbuktu
- Ghadames
- Aksum
- Volcanoes of Kamchatka
- Mount Etna
- Surtsey